We purchased tickets in advance for the Art Deco Walking Tour. Ours was at 10:30 a.m. on a…read moreThursday in late February. The instructions were to check in 20 - 30 minutes before the tour. The meet-up point is the Art Deco Welcome Center in South Beach, located in a park adjacent to the beach at 10th Street. We parked in a pay-lot about 4 blocks away on Washington Street. There were plenty of spaces when we arrived at 9:45 a.m. or so, but it was pretty full later when we left (a bit before 1 p.m.). I was pleasantly surprised that the cost was under $10! We checked in and were invited to browse the gift shop or to check out the Art Deco Museum. We did both. They also issued us lanyard-and-headphone combos for the tour. They had enough people booked such that they split it into 2 tours. Whoever was there a bit early was assigned to the first one, and we headed out by 10:20 a.m. Our guide was Howard. He had a voice that carried quite a ways, so we didn't end up needing the headphones. Given the topology, there were no hills to climb. Everything was uniformly flat. The tour began with a short history of Miami Beach, the concept of Art Deco, and why there happened to be a concentration of the style there. They later touched on how the preservation efforts saved it in the 1970s. Much of the rest of the tour was walking up Ocean Blvd (as well as some other streets) with Howard pointing out features on various buildings and how they reflect various aspects of Art Deco. It also involved the history of the buildings and what they are used for currently. We went into the lobby of one hotel for an interior glimpse. The tour also included a few other miscellaneous structures along the route (Versace's mansion and the oldest remaining house on the island, from 1916). The tour wrapped up after a bit over 90 minutes back near the visitors' center where it started. I thought this was quite a good overview of the subject and provided a lot of insights about the area and its history. If you have an interest in Art Deco and this area, you should definitely check it out.

The tour was so fun and interesting to know all the cool stories behind the architectures on Ocean…read moreDr. Our tour guide Julie was great! I have been to Miami couple times and passed by that area many times but never knew the history on this street. Joining this tour makes the cultural icon of Miami even more colourful and meaningful! You will be amazing to walk along and learn all the fun, small behind-the-story of each building!

I cannot recommend this tour enough! We had Toni as our guide for the Little Havana Food Tour. She…read morewas so energetic and knowledgeable, and so prepared! She brought ponchos so we could continue on as it rained. It was beautiful to learn about and see this neighborhood through the eyes of someone who grew up here. Toni knows so much history and seemed to know so many of the people, too! The tour has so much food - I was honestly more than full at the end and I didn't even finish all of my portions. I think it was a really good range of drinks, desserts, and food. Even though that coffee cup looks small, that's a full serving size and it was strong! I really really appreciate that this tour not only accommodated for vegetarians but also chose options for me that were realllllly good. Instead of the cubano, I had these fried plantain cups stuffed with veggies. They were SO good and seasoned well! And the spinach and cheese empanada was also amazing. My friend who got the meat options also loved her food. This tour is the perfect way to learn more about Cuban history, the history of the neighborhood, see all the street art, watch a game at domino park, and experience some of the best food in Miami. I cannot recommend this enough!!!

My mother and I had such a wonderful time in Miami Little Havana food and culture tour! We tasted…read moreempanadas, Cuban coffee, Cuban sandwiches, Cuba mojitos, sugarcane juice, guava pastries, and churros. We even stopped by a cigar store and learned all about cigar making while watching a woman roll cigars. We stopped and learned about Cuba, antiques cars, the various murals, famous Cubans in history and so much more. It was an informative tour in such a fun way! The time went by so quickly and it wouldn't have been the same experience without Mariela as our guide. She is so passionate and knowledgeable. Her energy was so upbeat. I think this a great tour for visitors who want to learn about a culture that shapes Miami as well as locals who want to learn about a neighborhood they may not know the ins and outs of. Mariels brought Cuba to us and we can't thank her enough! We highly recommend this tour!

Since Eve C reviewed the tour back in July 2008 and said the headquarters were set up in a…read moretemporary location, I called to see where they are currently located. They are indeed still at the temporary location at 12th & Ocean. The warm woman who answered the phone was a great help in directing me to their location once I got off the bus. For your $15, you get a simple map and an iPod with the tour info. I didn't find it difficult to use the iPod but felt the tour should really be more like an hour and half, if not more depending on how many pictures you take along the way. The tour states it can be done in an hour, ha! Only if you speed walk and don't take pictures. I also was scribbling down almost everything that was said as well as marking the locations on the map. I did wish the stops had been labeled on the simplified map. For instance, the first stop is the Amsterdam Hotel but if the counter woman had not told me it was the Versace Mansion, I probably would have kept going on Ocean until I found it. You are not given street addresses either, just landmarks and approximate street corners. Bringing a compass might be useful. Still, for the most part, I found every stop tour. As I said, I think it should be updated because one of the stops, the Coral Rock House was being torn down when I walked by. Once you're back in the shop, you hand over the equipment and get whatever ID or credit card you left behind to hold it. I suppose they don't want anyone to run off with their shabby earphones and much abused iPod. The shop has a lot of knick knacks and the usual assortment of postcards to buy. I thought about buying a pill box but really had no use for it. After touring the 12 or so stops, I thought I had became an expert on Art Deco! Or at least, actually noticing the colorful buildings and admiring them for an era long gone.

I did this tour today. The guide is a volunteer but very knowledgeable and helpful. It's about…read morehistory and architecture. Both I enjoy. It was well worth the time and money. The guide Martin Jean was very good and entertaining

Had an awesome time on our excursion a few weeks ago. Our guide was super knowledgeable in telling…read moreus all about the route we were on. Drinks were BYOB and we got to play our own music on the Bluetooth speaker. The boat itself was comfortable as well! Would definitely recommend.

Our family has a tradition of spending a half day on a yacht in Miami, and every time, it's an…read moreunforgettable experience! The service was 10/10 - professional, friendly, and accommodating. The boat was spotless, comfortable, and perfect for taking in the stunning sunset views. Spending quality time with family on the water, enjoying the ocean breeze, and making lifelong memories is truly money well spent. We'll be booking with them again.

She so sweet and we had an amazing day. She showed us around. We even drove all the way down to…read moreMiami city spent extra time took his locations that she doesn't normally go. It was well worth the money.

The good: This was a 3-4 star experience. I booked a…read moresnorkeling tour for 2 for my husband's birthday thru their website. It was easy to book and they had lots of availability. The best part of the trip was how we had the boat exclusively to ourselves! I didn't know it'd be a private tour until the day I came. So, the boat was just a total of 3 people (captain included). The water temperature was great and the clarity was decent. We even saw two dolphins! You meetup at Whiskey Joe's at the marina and you can start your excursion immediately. I liked that you didn't need to wait around much. I was able to see some cool looking fish, a bottom feeder and a crab. You get 2 hours for the snorkeling and you're not required to wear any life vests (in fact, we weren't offered any and I didn't see any). The water is super shallow so it didn't seem dangerous at all. The water is also salty and easy to float in. The boat was nearby the main snorkeling area. The bad: The area for snorkeling was pretty small. It was an artificial reef where the fish were but outside of that area there is just seagrass and there's no living things to observe. The website says snorkeling starts at $75/pp and up but that's misleading b/c that's only the price if you have 8+ people. When I came to the marina, the worker who had me sign paperwork said that "$25/hour tip is required" when I got an email saying 15% tip is optional. My husband clarified and he said "yes, it's required" but later retracted his statement after I clarified that it was strange to give tip upfront before we even went on the excursion. However, I did already give 15% tip upfront on 50% of the value and then Zelled an additional $25 tip to the captain himself afterward. The cost for snorkeling ended up being $407 for 2 people (pricey). The interesting: The captain swam with us to lead us to the reef and then swam back and was mostly on his phone.

My wife and I had a great time at "Sip & Salsa" class party at Mango Tropicana! It was…read morewell-organized with reserved tables in a separate upstairs lounge w/ our placards on table, and it was nice to know we don't have to keep eye out or keep looking for tables like regular clubs since we don't really drink. Alex our instructor was fun, engaging, and an intelligent instructor that broke the dances down for even beginners to follow easily. We first had bachata lesson at 8pm, followed by complimentary mojito and Cuban bites, then wrapped up with salsa lesson at 9:20pm. I wished salsa lesson was a full hour, followed by more fun salsa dancing with instructor dancing alongside (you know, cuz regular student folks won't keep dancing salsa on their own without pros' boosting presence) because afterwards everyone pretty much stopped dancing salsa after the last song after lesson ended. Then it was regular club time. Good vibe and we had fun. The wristband we got allowed free entry to the club downstairs so we could enjoy the cabaret performance and backstage live music band a bit too. Overall I would recommend Alex and Salsa Mia without any reservation for anyone with an open mind looking to have a good dancing time! Try it - don't be scared as there's no need to be! Gracias Alex!

For the price, it's worth every penny. The instructor was a great guy, worked with students…read moreindividually as needed, though there were a couple of moves that were a bit too much for me (spinning). I loved the setting - Mango Cafe is a vibrant and fun place - the class takes place in a side room on the second floor. We had 15-20 people, and the space was starting to get tight, but bearable. Appetizers were tasty, and enough for a couple of helpings. For the free drink, they accommodated the request for a virgin mojito. Includes a wristband for Mango Cafe entry after 10:00p (they close at 5:00a). Highly recommend the class, it's a great value.

The Miami Design Preservation League is a non profit preservation and arts organization founded in…read more1976. Their goal is to preserve and protect the architectural, cultural, and social integrity of Miami Beach. The society was founded by Barbara Baer Capitman in 1976 making it the oldest Art Deco Society in the world. The Miami Design Preservation league operates the welcome center which contains a small museum. The current exhibit is "If Seats Could Talk: the Story of the Miami Marine Stadium." The museum offers lectures, films, exhibits, and other educational events. In addition to the museum the League runs the Art Deco gift shop next door. At the welcome center you can purchase tickets for the daily official Art Deco walking tour or if you prefer you can pick up a map for a self guided walking tour which i offered in 11 languages. The welcome center also provided information to visitors about cultural and sporting events, National Parks, city tours, and day trips. They can help answer any questions you have about the typical things people like to do on vacation. The Miami Design Preservation League works to promote the art, design, architecture, history of South Beach. South beach has been resurrected from a place people were afraid to drive through in the 80's into a world class vacation destination. At the heart of the transformation was the preservation of the Art Deco buildings from the 1930's. The restored historic buildings of South Beach are what makes it special and the MDPL works hard to make sure it stays that way.

1) The "Welcome Center" is a tiny vestibule. The rest is a poorly done 2 room museum with an…read moreentrance fee that is not advertised outside. 2) The exhibits read like a terrible dry grad school text book. And after coming from the sweltering heat, you really cannot digest the awfully written text. 3) An entire exhibit was a metal gate propped against a wall and a plaque effectively saying, "A house was demolished, this was going to go in a landfill, a neighbor asked to salvage it, here it is." 4) Another "exhibit" was an Ikea style glas cabinet filled with random glass vases (the kind you get a Goodwill) with no plaque explaining why half of a wall in a 2 room museum would be taken up with this ... I guess they had nothing else to display? 5) At lease have a vending machine for people who need a cold drink,

My friends and I did the Everglades tour which included a shuttle ride (to and from) the park & an…read moreairboat tour! Our driver Barnebee picked us up from Bayside Market and throughout the drive taught us a little about Miami history/ facts! He also kept a good look out for some alligators. He was magnificent and made sure we were all comfortable and happy. In all, I recommend this tour company! It was affordable & fun! Don't forget to bring $3 to take a picture with Snappy, the baby alligator!

Used Miami Tour Company to go down to the Everglades. The ticket includes the airboat ride and an…read moreanimal show afterwards. We got the combo that includes sailing around Star Island right after we're back from the Everglades. It was fun-- got to see a National wonder and got to explore another part of Miami afterwards before leaving the next day. After the Start Island sailing tour you get to explore the Bayside Marketplace, with lots of cute little shops and bars. When you first board the bus they give you a map of all their tours and a mini bio of their employees. Michelle, the owner, is cool, we had been emailing for a while. I wanted to do a city tour on our first full day there but that day they did not offer hotel pickup so we ended up just kind of exploring on our own. Also, I got sick on our original day that we were supposed to go to the Everglades and since I was trying to cancel with less than 24 hours in advance they weren't going to give my husband his whole money back; only partial. I really did want to go to the Everglades so we ended up rescheduling it was a blast! It's a good company, just beware that you might not get your money back if something happens last minute. And honestly it's fair because they do have that disclaimer, and there are no exceptions. ‍

I rented a yacht for a group of friends for my husbands birthday. The experience with Mari was…read morefantastic from start to finish. She is always available and very responsive which is huge for me when I am planning anything. She reached out to me a week before our yacht day and there were some concerns she had with the yacht I originally booked and she called me with a solution already which was such relief for me. Many times when there are issues, people don't always have a solution right away, but she did and the yacht was awesome. We had a yacht with a jet ski and my husband had the best time. Captain Joe was so much fun. I will definitely be doing this again and will use Starlux in the future.

My experience with Starlux Yachts (Mari) was nothing short of extraordinary! Although she may take…read morea bit to respond, just know that Mari's got your back (most likely because she is getting the best deal she can for you!). I would recommend calling (vs. text) for faster response times. Mari was able to help our group of 30+ book a very luxurious yacht for a reasonable price. We also opted in for an open bar and passed hors d'oeuvres. To be honest, the food was better than anyone expected and no one was left hungry! The yacht also had Bluetooth connectivity for music but our group was able to bring our own music equipment to play on the deck. We also let the captain know before we set sail that we would like to jump in the water and he was able to dock mid-way to give everyone the opportunity to swim. The crew in general delivered exceptional service and helped create an atmosphere of luxury and relaxation throughout our voyage. This yacht charter was definitely the highlight of our group's trip and I highly recommend booking with Mari for an unforgettable and 5 star yachting experience.